Oppenheimer vs Barbie: Nolan's Film Has The Edge At Indian Box Office? Experts weigh in

Oppenheimer and Barbie are set to release on July 21. This clash has garnered a fair deal of attention in India. A section of the audience feels that Christopher Nolan's film will face competition from the Margot Robbie-led film. Others, however, are of the view that there is no real 'clash' as both films cater to different audiences. So, what is the ground reality? Here's what trade experts feel.

2 things you need to know: 

- Barbie stars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Michael Cera and more. 
- Oppenheimer features Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and more. 

Oppenheimer or Barbie: Which will be a bigger release? 

While speaking with Republic Digital, trade analyst Ramesh Bala said that Oppenheimer is going to be a bigger release than Barbie. The tickets are being sold in the ratio of 10:1 in favour of Oppenheimer. He added that Nolan's popularity will help Oppenheimer secure a strong release in India.

"At least in India, the buzz is more for Oppenheimer because our audience has Christopher Nolan fans. We’ve seen a lot more Nolan movies. The tickets are being sold ten to one between Oppenheimer and Barbie," said Bala. 

(Trade anaylsts believe that Oppenheimer will have more takers in India than Barbie. | Image: Twitter)

Trade analyst Sumit Kadel had a similar opinion. He said that he expects the film to open between Rs 10-15 crores. While speaking about why Oppenheimer will be a bigger hit, he explained that Christopher Nolan films have previously done very well at the box office. Kadel added, "I am expecting this film to open in the range of 10 to 15 crores. Because Nolan has a very big brand in India, and all of his previous films did well in India."

Will Barbie eventually get the upper hand? 

While speaking about the long-term performance of Barbie at the box office, Ramesh Bala stated that the Greta Gerwig directorial does have an audience in India. He added that women of different age groups as well as the Gen-Zs are its target audience and it could eventually pick up in theatres. Bala pointed out that since Oppenheimer has a large appeal when it comes to the IMAX format, Barbie might take smaller screens. 

"There is going to be an audience, they’ll watch it. In a multiplex, the big screen will go to Oppenheimer, while the small screen goes to Barbie,” said Ramesh Bala.

(It will be people from cities like Bangalore and Pune who will be more interested in watching Barbie. | Image: Twitter)

Sumit Kadel, however, completely ruled out the possibility of Barbie receiving a major reception in India. He said that the film will gross around Rs 4-5 crore in India on the opening day and that revenue will only come from Tier-1 cities such as Hyderabad or Mumbai. 

“In the case of Barbie, it’s a brand, but in India, it’s not that big,” said Sumit Kadel.  He also said the bulk of Barbie's business will come from cities such as Hyderabad and Pune. “I assume that it’s going to get an opening in the range of Rs 4-5 crores, at max, and that too in multiplexes, and in big cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore,” he said. It should be noted that both analysts added that word of mouth through reviews could positively affect Barbie.